Comment deleted by Article Creator

Try not doing any isolation exercises for your biceps on your back day but incorporate some pull ups into your routine. Compound movements like pull ups will produce far greater human growth hormone,as will a superset. Therefore i recommend if you do tris after chest, for your final two exercises do your curls first, rest a maximum of 30 seconds and do your tricep exercise, so you are alternating between bi's and tri's... Repeat for 3-5 sets, aiming to fail at 8-10 reps. This is because working one muscle group followed by another is also proven to give a natural spike in HGH.

Obviously you body has just become used to the regularity of your routine, all you need is to change it up a bit. If the above doesn't appeal to you then simply increasing your reps to 8-12 will give your muscles something new to think about.

I used to do 8 reps for a slightly lower weight but decided this past fortnight to shock my muscles into action by loading on the weight more and decreasing the rep range.

I do tris after chest, but I don't think I'd be able to get the most out of my biceps after doing that as I do put a lot of effort into chest exercises. I'm often completely drained by the end of it.

When I do bicep curls, I alternate between that and my lats and upper back with rows.

Many thanks for your replies though. Pull-ups are something I often try to incorporate but then never get round to doing so, unless it's just like a one-off thing to see how many I can do. I think I'd struggle to do 5 pull ups for 3 sets.

Didn't know compound movements trigger HGH though, interesting.

I typed two responses that my phone managed to lose. But Alvin covered the compound stuff I had typed up.

So he goes my third attempt. From what I have read It is easy to hit a plateau on biceps after a while and it takes people years to add an extra one or two inches after the initial gains. This guy(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21EpHRJTT34) is lifting 20kgs so the weight is probably not the biggest issue holding you back. It might be worth really upping your calories by a a few thousand and then cutting a few months further down the road once you have bulked right up.

FYI. I'm only lifting 18kg and been working out for 100 days to stry and shift my JA gut.

Decreasing your reps will only really lead to an increase in strength as opposed to muscle mass. Its not as simple as the heavier you can lift, the bigger your muscles will become. As i guess by this article you are finding out!

I wouldnt recommend alternating curls between rows and lat pulls as the fatigue from the curls will affect your performance in the pulls and rows, preventing your from getting the most out of your exercise. Bi's are an extremely small muscles group so any isolation exercise should be done towards the end of a workout, unless of course you create a set day for working arms.

Can not put into words just how affective, good quality pull ups are for not only your bis but also your lats, traps and core.

Not really sure how useful HGH is, tbh - despite its name.

Layne Norton did an article questioning the benefits of trying to increase the body's HGH in such a manner.

I think isolation work for the biceps is necessary for optimal growth.

Out of curiosity, how often do you workout a week, and how is it split?
The general recommendation is to hit each muscle group twice a week.
If you're only doing one day a week, perhaps reduce the volume of each workout (maybe remove barbells curls) and increase the frequency with which you workout.

And I wouldn't worry too much about your work or the lack of pain the next day - I rarely feel any sort of muscle soreness in my biceps, and they've grown greatly over the last year.

No worries mate, i love gym talk!!!

Don't worry about not being able to do manypull ups... You will be amazed how many people can't even manage 1!! However the benefits of just 15-25 reps broken down into anything from 2-6 sets alone are far too great to ignore!

Bought a chin up bar but it doesn't fit my door frame so am taking my life in my hands. Still not found and adequate solution.

Same with bumbell chest work, too heavy to do on my own(20kgs max) so been resorting to 125-150 press ups every other day.

Sorry, I meant to mention what Admin says - increasing caloric intake is generally the most important thing for muscle growth.

Without increasing the amount you consume, you simply can't grow!

Having said this, I have to warn against natural bodybuilders bulking.

Lyle McDonald suggests that the protein synthesis of a natural athlete can allow for only around 26lbs of lean muscle growth per year - doesn't sound a lot, but nearly two stone of pure muscle, plus say around 2 and a half pounds of fat which would keep your body fat the same, a few pounds of water retention etc.... - so there is little point in going for an extreme bulk.
If your size and weight gains have plateaued, try increasing calories by 300-400. After a few months, if your gains have once more stalled, increase by another 300-400.
Matt Ogus is a proponent of this sort of steady bulking method.

Admin, do you workout at home? If so, I have a good trick for helping you to get heavier dumbbells in position.

Just to verify my position/experience by the way.... Im not currently working out or following any particular weight llifting routine at the moment like addy and stu, so please pick there brains for what is currently working for them!- due to spending 7 of the last 11 months on crutches a fixed routine that doesn't priorities rehab is impossible!

However my experience and knowledge comes from going from a pathetic 6.5 stone endurance runner, to peaking at a ripped 13.5 stone in under 4 years. So gaining almost 2 stone of muscle per year.

^Kudos, can I just say! I've gone from 10 stone to 14, which I thought was impressive, but to more than double your body weight is incredible.

Sorry to hear about your injury :/

DaStuDogg (U9291) Yeah at work out at home, don't have a bench either.

Have a very expensive gym membership but due to JA606 moderation requiremnts cant take my phone into the gym and moderate the site.

Thank you sir! How long have you been training?

Getting up to around 11 stone was the easy part for me personally, so i understand your pride in going from 10 - 14!!

Thanks for the sympathy too haha, just to point out tho that it wasn't related to my weight lifting!!

Addy do you find you work out better after a hard day of WUMbusting? Or is it the calmer days on JA that put you in the right frame of mind to workout?

Alvin I once went from 9.5st to 12.5st and fat in less than six months after a running injury. The doctor thought there was a problem with his scales. Was 5st heavier within two years,

Alvin I work out during WUM busting. As before that I was sitting totally immobile for 10+ yours a day moderating.
Have an exercise bike that i attach a wireless keyboard to using velcro.

I've lost about 1 and a half stone in total over the last year, similar size to what i was but no shape or definition at all. I got an at home chin up bar like yourself too lol mine fitted... But after a couple of days just hobbling around on crutches killed my arms!

What was your injury? Is it all healed up?

Admin, I'm in the exact same position, mate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_KD8ZdkcPo&feature=watch_response

Go to 3:45 on the above video; the guy uses books to hold the weights in an elevated position.
He has them in front of him, but personally, I have to the side of my shoulders, with the books stacked to a height such that when my arm/elbow is at a right angle off the floor (elbow on the floor, forearm up), the grip on the dumbbell is pretty much in-line with my hand.
This basically means that the weights are pretty much in position, and all you have to do is lean your arms to the side to pick up the weight.
It doesn't leave a huge amount of room to flare the elbows when doing the exercise, but personally, I've found keeping the elbows tucked in helps!

Not sure if I've made that explanation clear - feel free to ask if it isn't/sounds totally ridiculous!

For the pull-ups, I put a couple of towels over a door (so it doesn't dig into my hand) and pull up on there.
Just got to make sure it's a sturdy enough door!

Ron, just over two and a half years, buddy!
Tbh, getting to 11 stone was hardest for me, but that's probably because I really had no idea what I was doing - definitely didn't capitalise on the noob gains!

And the injury won't affect your lifting long-term, I hope?

Have an exercise bike that i attach a wireless keyboard to using velcro

---------------



That gives me the funniest mental image ever! Never again will i make an inappropriate comment without the thought of you raging on your bike!

Chondromalacia patella
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001488/

Ran a fairly nasty half marathon when I was 19 and had a large blister in my in step, but had a race a few weeks later so to keep my training at 20k per day i started running on the outside of my foot. It caused bone fragments to chip off and damage my cartilage. It took 3 years before the fragaments ground down enough that I could run again. But still have major knee pains after a few miles.

DaStuDogg (U9291) Amazing i watched that Scooby video a few months back. I have been using gel insoles under by elbows to help reduce the elbow pain when getting the dumbbells into position

I think the first few months are always more a learning curve than a time for gains stu!

My injury won't affect my lifting too much, just garunteed arthritis. I broke my ankle in 3 places playing football, then returned to action too soon and re-fractured one of the breaks. Which then took alot longer to heal than expected, back running now though so should be good to press on from here!